Bittersweet Revenge
by BlackBlood23
Summary: It was supposed to be a simple mission. It wasn't supposed to end with both Erza and Mira injured, and the kids running all the way back to the guild with fear-stricken eyes. The cause of all this being a psychopathically challenged kid with pink hair; not to mention his ability to wield a mysterious, but dangerous, from of magic that allows him to control demon's... Dark Natsu.
1. Prologue

_Chapter 1:_

The boy ran. Bony branches reached out, clawing at his face. His lungs were burning from excessive use, making his breath come out as raspy gasps. A bag slung over his shoulders.

He was in a valley. Towering trees hung over head, creating a thick canopy of wood. The ground was muddy and dead, no grass was growing anywhere, no leaves clung on to the trees. Everything was dead or dying. The only noise that dared break the silence was the squawking of ravens; the only animal, apart from insects, that lived in this god forsaken land. The night was clear and still, like the world was holding its breath. The stars shone like droplets of light in the piercing darkness. Steep, sleeping mountains were on the horizon, the tips enveloped in ice and snow.

The boy continued to run, but slowed down to a more steady pace to avoid even more injury. The ground finally evened out so he could see more than just the stone walls the once trapped him. He glanced around, and spotted a pond out of the corner of his eye. Noticing how parched his sandy throat was; he ran towards it.

It was a simple place: a circular dent in the ground, filled with dark, near black, water. It was placed in a small opening; trees turned their noses up in disgust at the place, the mud around the place dry and cracked. A thick slab of rock grew out of the ground at the rim of the pond; if you could even call it that. It was like a Mini mountain: jagged rocks that slowly reached up to the top. Moss covered the slab, making it slimy, wet and cold. The pond itself was completely still, like everything else in this place, and reflected the tips of the trees to near perfection.

The boy was panting, greedily gulping down oxygen and into his burning lungs. He knelt down at the edge of the pond, looking a mess in the mirror-like pool: His deep, sapphire eyes that were once warm and content were now cold and weary. His spiked salmon hair was matted in blood, dust and mud. Large bruises adored his left cheek and upper right eyebrow. Dotted snake tattoos winded down bother of his arms; the head slightly above his wrists and the tail slightly below his shoulders. His clothes were little more than rags that survived the trees onslaught and blistering cold. A large gash went right through his outer left calf.

He cupped his shaking hands, before slowly lowering them into the pool; ripples broke the surface. Seconds later the boy lowered his head and brought his cupped hands to his lips, gulping the captured water down in one. It felt refreshingly cool on his parched mouth. He repeated it again, and again, gulping an equal amount of air in the space between drinking and lowering his hands. After his thirst was finally quenched he let his hands fall to his sides; a dribble of water fell down his chin, to his neck, and down his chest before it dropped onto the ground with a small dripping sound.

He hung his head back and looked towards the big, bright moon. It was a rather depressing scene: a child no older than eight or nine staring at the full moon with lost eyes, as if to say why have you done this to me? But, of course, the moon never answered.

The boy unslung the bag and threw it on the cold, muddy ground. He then slowly changed his position so that his legs were dangling in the murky water with his arms holding his body weight either side of him. Gently, the boy slowly eased himself into the pond, but not before discarding his rags. He winced ever so slightly as the water enveloped his injures. The boy then removed his hands from behind him and began to rub the grit and dried blood off his arms and legs; using his hands like a flannel.

Several minutes later and the boy was clean. He swam over to the rim of the pond, where his bag was, and hauled himself out of the pool. Said pool was now a dark and cloudy red instead of the shining black from before. A puddle of water formed at the rim, where the boy was standing. Droplets of water glimmered as they fell from his tanned skin and damp hair. He leaned forward and picked up his rags, and began to dry himself off with them. He then walked over to his bag and violently opened it. The contents of the bag wasn't that special: some clothes, a loaf of bread, two bottles of water, a few bandages and several supposedly silver coins placed in an air tight bag. The boy yanked the clothes and bandages out, aimlessly throwing his rags in the bag before closing it. He wrapped the bandages around his injured calf, wincing every time he wrapped the bandage slightly lower around his calf; he then put the clothes on.

He was now wearing a black hoodie with a white zipper that covered his snake tattoos completely. Similar black shorts donned his legs, the bandages mostly hidden beneath the shorts. He had pulled his hood up and wore no shoes, showing off his cut and bruised legs. The boy tucked his legs inwards, towards his torso, hugging them tightly. He then silently buried his head into his knees, like he was trying to disappear. The adrenaline from the run began to wear off as the boy legs went numb from over-use and a dull pain throbbed from his left cheek.

A twig snapped in the distance, making the boy jolt upwards, leaping off the ground. His muscles tensed and eyes narrowed, like a predator searching for its prey. He turned to look in the direction of the noise, listening intently…

silence.

Seconds passed before his muscles relaxed ever so slightly and his eyes reverted back to normal. He turned to walk in the opposite direction, not wanting to take any chances; in case it was a wild bear of boar that had wandered into the woods. Another twig snapped; in the same direction as the last one. But it wasn't the only sound. In the distance, the boy heard a noise that sent chills through his very soul: The sound of men shouting.

Instantly the boy broke into a run, shoving the wall of branches out of the way as he did so. The densely compacted trees sliced at his face with no mercy. Unlike before, when he was trying to conserve energy, he ran with all his might, sprinting viciously in any direction apart from that of which he came. Eventually a narrow gorge came into view, giving the boy a glimmering hope of survival. But, he sound of men had gotten louder and, naturally, clearer. One boomed over the rest, like thunder in a storm:

'Find him! Bring him to me!'

The boy hoped to whatever god was out there that they wouldn't find him. After all, not only had he run away, but he had also stolen a bunch of things that were now slung over his back. The gorge was much closer now – only fifty or so metres away. He ran faster, trying to ignore the searing pain from his calf. Tears were prickling at the corner of his eyes, threatening to fall. He was now only ten metres away. But, before he could jump on to the path, his right foot caught on a lone root causing him to fall over and twist his ankle with a sickening crack. His face morphed into one of anguish as he gave of a quick, high pitch cry in pain.

Slowly, as if unwilling to do so, he turned to look at his broken ankle. It was bent into a very awkward position on the floor: the leg was pointing to the right as a white bone precariously stuck out of his ankle area. Blood was gushing from his ankle and a searing pain was coming from the wound; it felt like a red hot poker was digging into his ankle. And yet, the boy still tried in futility to get up, only to violently flinch and move back to his original position.

He laid there for what felt like hours; whilst in reality it was little more than a few minutes. The boy glared at the lone root that made him fall, a sudden surge of anger welled up inside him. I will not be beaten by some stupid root! He thought to himself, gritting his teeth in frustration. But the boy knew that if he didn't set his leg in place it would only make the injury worse. So, he grabbed the crooked root and ripped it out of the ground, dishevelling a large amount of soil and mud. A loud cracking sound was heard as the root gave way, detaching itself from the tree. The boy then moved both his hands to the middle of the root, leaving a small gap between them, and snapped the root in half. The sound that the twig made reverberated throughout the woods, making the ravens squawk even louder at the foreign noise.

As the snapping sound faded, the boy lined the two pieces of wood together again, before snapping them into quarters. He looked back towards his broken ankle with pleading eyes, as if he was hoping for it to miraculously fix itself. The boy shakily placed the snapped roots on the ground, next to his leg, before moving his hands to grab his leg. His right hand clutched the lower part of his shin whilst his left hand held his foot. He shut his eyes tightly; clenching his teeth, bracing himself for the pain to come. The boy quickly thrust his hands: his left moving forwards whilst his right jolting downwards. A grotesque crack was heard from his ankle as his bone was repositioned. The boy instantly roared in pain, slamming his head into the ground in a futile attempt to stop screaming. Small, hopeless tears fell from this eyes as he lifted his muddied face from the floor, turning to look at his ankle. The bone had successfully repositioned itself so that it was linear; blood was already drying around the wound, closing it off.

But, the boy knew that if he left it like this it would only get worse. This is where the branches came in handy. Unslinging his bag from his back, the boy opened it and took the rags out; before ripping them up into thin strips. He then grabbed the, recently snapped, roots. The boy placed each root delicately on the lower part of his shin: one above, one below and one on either side of it. Using the strips of cloth as support, the boy wrapped them round the roots, making sure no to touch his injury, before pulling them and tying a knot so they were bound tightly to his shin. He repeated this until all the strips were used up.

The boy slowly hauled himself off the floor, using a nearby tree to pull himself to his feet. By the time the boy was actually on his feet he was already panting, shaking uncontrollably. Using the trees a support, the boy slowly made his way towards the pathway, making sure to put hardly, if not any, weight on his broken ankle.

Eventually he reached the gorge. By now he was drenched in sweat, panting furiously. He was standing at the edge of the path; the pathway turned out to be on a different level to where he was standing, suddenly cutting off. The boy carefully sat down, dangling his feet off the edge with his hands poised to take his weight. The boy took great care not to place any pressure of his right leg. It was only a metre or so drop, but with a broken ankle it could take forever. So the boy waited for his breath to even out, pondering on how he was going to make it down without further injuring his leg. It was only then that the boy noticed something was off. Something was missing. The voices... they'd stopped.

What did that mean? Had they heard him screaming in pain? Or had they given up and gone somewhere else? Maybe they had found him, waiting for the right moment to leap out and capture him? The boy didn't wait to find out, he had to act now; he moved his hands slightly into a more comfortable position. Ever so slowly, the boy began to place his weight on his hands. At first he arms could seemingly take the weight, but as more and more of his body weight was place on his arms, the more they began shake and strain; it was obvious they couldn't hold his weight for much longer. The boy slowly began the lift himself of the floor, hovering over the ground by about an inch. His arms were shaking tremendously by now, threatening to give way any second. But before they did, the boy used the rest of his energy to fling himself of the edge and on to the floor below, somehow managing to land on both feet.

Big mistake.

Pain instantly shot through his right leg as it made contact with the floor. It felt as if a boulder had been viciously throwing at his leg. Again and again the throbbing sensation pulsed its way through his body, making the boy wither on the floor in pain. Strength had deserted him; he couldn't even more a finger, let alone haul himself off the floor. _What am I going to do?_ He though as he laid in the middle of the pathway, hoping for a miracle that would never happen. He looked towards the stars, wanting to be one himself. Free from the world and torture that lays in the future, to be happy and content like he once was. To be safe and secure. But the boy knew he wasn't safe. He knew that he had to find a stable place to stay and live. Somewhere where they would never find him ever again. Somewhere warm, and kind, and welcoming. _Like a place like that would ever actually exist_ the boy thought bitterly, _I need to think of a way to get back up and fast, I can't move thanks to my leg. I can't rely on someone finding and helping me in the middle of a deserted forest. So my only option is to wait for the sun to rise and use my magic after the spell's broken. _The boy pondered to himself. Deciding this was the best option, he closed his eyes. In a matter of seconds he fell into a deep sleep, unaware of the voices that began to fill the air once more.

The boy woke a in a cold sweat. He'd only been away for a few hours and already he's having nightmares about 'that' place and 'that' person. At least its nearly dawn... The boy thought with a smile, soon he would be completely free from 'them'. He knew it was nearly dawn because of his magic, he could feel it pushing and pulling inside of him; yearning to be free from its restraints.

'Finally! I found you, Reaper.' An all to familiar voice stated behind the boy, sickened by joy and lathered in glee. Said boy jumped at the usage of his 'name'. Turning to face the figure; The figure he knew and dreaded - now that he didn't have his magic.

Standing there were 5 young men. One was in the middle, with two either side of him and another behind them. All together they looked like a large "v". They were each wearing the same clothing: a dark jacket, with light-colored edges and a pair of buttoned bands on each sleeve, worn over a lighter shirt bearing the symbol of three separate triangles. Mildly loose, light pants held up by a simple belt, similarly colored gloves and shoes, and a light cape held in place by a rhomboidal buckle adorned by a gem. Each of them were holding a staff that expanded into a oval-shaped barrel of a gun at the tip. The man at the front was smiling evilly, a complete contrast to the others who were shaking tremendously, looking ready to run away screaming.

'Or do you prefer you really name...' The man began, grinning like a maniac. His eyes were beast-like; screaming insanity to those who looked at them. His hair was even more maniacal; blood-red, spiking out in all directions. The boy tensed, his body going rigid, his eyes held tints of disbelief as he continued to look at the man. The others soldiers stayed completely silent throughout, still cautious of the boy in front.

'Natsu, the demon child'

Immediately the boy began to shake slightly, bad memories flashing back. It's been five years since I've heard that name... He thought sadly, looking at the ground, 'Those' people never used our real names, so it's no wonder I nearly forgot it.

The man's grin faltered for a second as he sighed. 'It's a pity. I hoped to fight you at your full strength, not when it's been locked up until dawn, and certainly not when you don't have your keys'

'Then give me back my keys and let me go!' The boy, Natsu, asked pleadingly, sounding like a puppy begging for attention. But in the boy's thoughts were completely different:_ Come on, Natsu! You can do it! Just for 10 more seconds and then you can kill them as slowly as you want!_

'Sorry, no can do. You see, 'that' person himself asked for your return. And as for your keys, I've got them right here..." The man held his arm up casually, his hand completely flat, almost as if he was posing. Ribbons of wind began spin in his palm, before compressing into a ball of light. However, it dispersed just as quickly, revealing a key chain stuffed full of keys, all different designs and shapes. The only thing they had in common were their colours. They were all pitch black.

'Give them back!' Natsu screamed, trying to turn, only to screech in pain at the pulsating throb from his ankle. The man laughed at this, casually throwing the key chains up and down in his palm, a soft chinking sound filled the air.

'...9...8...'

Eventually the others joined in, starting off with a slight giggle, quickly excelling into roaring laughter, clutching their sides in pain.

'...7...6...'

Natsu gritted his teeth in frustration, all he could do is count down. He couldn't do anything to stop them from laughing, just like he couldn't do anything to stop them from hurting him. Yet.

'...5...4...'

'Okay, this has gone on long enough. Guys, get your guns ready, but remember to set it to stun.' The middle man stated, authority dripping in his voice. The others nodded in agreement, lifting the staffs off the ground to point the gun part at Natsu. Specks of orange light began to gather at the barrel of the gun, making it glow a similar colour.

'...3...2...'

'Fire!' the man screamed, all of them released the stored energy. Loud, booming sounds ripped through the wind as powerful orbs of condensed orange light shot towards the vulnerable boy.

'...1...' Natsu mumbled, but it was drowned out by the roaring of the cannon-like guns. A small glimmer of sunlight made its way through the mountains; this didn't go unnoticed by Natsu or the guards. But it was too late. The orbs hit their mark; a dome of bright orange light enveloped Natsu, before it exploded in flashes of scarlet red and white lights. Smoke bellowed into the crisp sky, polluting it with thick, toxic gas. Dust and small chunks of rock were thrown high into the sky like a geyser, creating a blanket of debris. The man slowly walked forward, cautious, if the boy had somehow survived the attack. He was now a metre away from the smoke cloud and he still couldn't see a thing.

'did we get him?' one of the guards questioned, curiously taking a step forward. 'I don't-argggh!' he was cut off as three, white strips of material bursted out of the top of the smoke cloud, twisting graciously around each other. The strips then began to curve and straighten before quickly jabbing downwards, right into the man. The man screamed in pain for a second, before his body went limp against the blade-like strips. The first strip had gone right through the man's lower right abdomen, the tip digging into the ground slightly. The second had pierced his left shoulder and the last had cut the middle of his neck, the tips also dug into the ground. Blood splattered onto the ground as the blades withdrew, letting the body fall to the ground with a large splat.

The guards all took a step back at the grotesque in front of them: a guard lying on the floor with his head detached from the body and a large hole in his side. The smoke cleared, revealing Natsu. But something wasn't right. He was standing there, on _both_ of his feet, showing no pain whatsoever on standing on his broken leg. His eyes had changed as well. They weren't scared and weary anymore, instead they were cold and sadistic. An equally sadistic smile played on his face.

Natsu slowly walked forward, adding to the suspense and dread in the air. 'S-Stay b-b-back!' on of the guards shouted, stuttering and shaking like a lunatic.

'If you wanted to kill me, you should've killed me when you had the chance.' Natsu stated venomously, stopping in front of the mingled corpse. He leaned over and pick up the key chain. The keys attached to the chain began to glow an ominous red in his palm.

'Now it's your turn to die' that was the last thing Natsu said, before blood curdling screams filled the air.

* * *

**Soooooooooooooooo... how was it? Was it okay? good? bad? Do you want me to continue? please tell me!** **Review, Favourite and/or follow, only if you want! Constructive criticism is wanted! be in touch soon(ish), bye! **


	2. Request

**I know It's been forever, but with a combination of Writers block, things****! homework, (partially) School, Parents and colds, I haven't really had a huge amount of time to write. Anyway, enough blabbering about completely unrelated things, let chapter 2 commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 2:_

'Red haired hag!'

'White witch!'

These insults echoed throughout the extravagant building of fairy tail: A hall rectangular in shape, with Square, wooden pillars lining the entrance of the guild. A bar directly opposite to the doors, with stacks upon stacks of both rare, and common, wines hanging above. Basic windows were placed within the intervals of the pillars, illuminating the building in bright, cheerful light. Several long benches filled with people of all shapes and sizes stretched across the length of said guild. People walked in and out of the grand hall, going about their daily business without a care in the world. To the right of the bar was a basic, and fairly bland, staircase that led up to the near deserted second floor. And finally, to the left of the bar was the request board, where the scarlet and ivory haired teens squabbled like children.

The red-haired teen was wearing a long-sleeved collared shirt underneath a pair of shoulder and breast plates that were cut off by a brown, leather belt. A loose, bright red bow was tied neatly around her neck. Another belt hung on her hips at an angle, with a simple turquoise sheath attached to it. Within the sheath was a golden and blue sword that glimmered in the light. A snow-white skirt adored her waist, ending at her knees. Navy blue tights were underneath the skirt, completely covering her legs. She wore simple maroon shoes outlined in a beige material. Her scarlet hair was tied up in a ponytail behind her back, reaching slightly below her spine, with two strands framing he face. Her skin was fair and she had chocolate-brown eyes that shone with confidence.

The ivory haired teen wore much more revealing clothes: a dark, skimpy sleeveless shirt adorned by some light curved motifs on the chest, a pair of leather shorts held up by a studded belt with a demonic-looking buckle and thigh-high boots with stiletto heels, each bearing a skull adorned by a flower on their upper front parts. She also wore a bracelet-shaped like a demonic arm around her right wrist, a ring on the same hand's middle finger. She let a large strand cover her forehead freely, and had most of her hair tied in a high, larger ponytail on the back of her head by a massive dark ribbon. She too, had fair skin, with sea blue eyes.

A group of children, no bigger than 4 or 5 children, listened as the two argued; though none of them made any attempt to stop them. They sat on a circular table with, what looked to be, a card game out.

On the far right was a boy with thick, raven hair that stuck out in all directions. His eyes were a deep onyx color with skin that was lightly tanned by the sun. The boy was wearing little more than dark blue boxer shorts; leaving his torso completely bare for the world to see. The boy looked strangely aggravated, but at the same time bored, as leaning his head on the circular table.

To the left of the boy was a girl with silky white hair. She had a block fringe that cut off slightly below the ears. Her eyes were a beautiful, Aquamarine color that suited he perfectly. She donned a simple, pink dress paired with dark red, strap-on shoes. A small scowl played on her face as she looked at the cards in her hand, though it was more humorous than scary.

Next was a similar boy with short, ivory hair that was style in a messy bowl cut. He donned an elegant, Western look that consisted of a black suit over a white shirt, with a red Papillion around the neck, and polished dark shoes. He was relatively tanned with deep sky colored eyes, like the girls. Though, unlike the girl, he wasn't scowling at the cards. Instead, he was grinning like a maniac, obviously not taking the game seriously.

Finally, next to the ivory haired boy was a girl. She had dark umber colored hair that was tied up in a mess behind her; two strands of hair framed her face. She donned an orange colored dress with a checker design on it; the rim of the dress with frilled at the top and was held up by two simple, red straps. She was wearing basic flip-flops. Unlike the others, she looked unhappy, almost as if she troubled by something that had, or was about to, happen.

'Wow... So they tell me not to fight with Elfman because it's "Immature" and look what they're doing right now...' the raven haired boy mumbled to himself, groaning at the lack of excitement in the air.

He wasn't expecting the white-haired girl to reply, 'Come on Gray, as long as they don't start to use their magic, we should be fine... or at the very least survive..." The boy, Gray, chuckled lightly at the comment, turning to face the girl.

'Lisanna does have a point there, Gray. Unlike you and me, those two could probably destroy a village and, I don't know about you, but I don't really want to face that kind of strength.' A white-haired boy added on, making the raven haired boy stop and cringe at the thought.

'What are they arguing about anyway?' The brunette, Cana, asked; redirecting her gaze from the cards and to the group.

'I think they're arguing over a request, it's sorta hard to tell with them.' Lisanna answered, turning to look at the two squabbling teens. Cana laughed wholeheartedly at the comment, quickly forgetting the bad mood she was just in.

'That's my request! Get your own, Erza!' a familiar voice screeched behind them. Naturally, they all turned to face the commotion. The two teen were now in a fighting position: Their hands clenched into fists, the right on their hips and the left hovering in the air; just about eye level. Their bodies were turned to the side with the knees bend ever so slightly; ready to pounce at their victim. Their left legs took the lead whilst the right was at the back, there was slightly less than a metre gap between the two legs. The request they had fought over was on the ground, in a crinkled mess.

'No! You get your own, Mira! I was the one who grabbed it first, so it's mine!' The red-haired teen, recently called Erza, retaliated.

The ivory haired teen, Mira, recoiled slightly at the statement, before quickly coming back with a reply, ' Yeah! Well...I bagsied it before you did! So it's mine!' The conversation went on like this for several minutes; completely oblivious to the growing number of spectators. The atmosphere began to intensify as the two teens reached the tip of their anger readying themselves for the inevitable fight. Erza slowly began to unsheathing her sword, glaring at her opponent with such ferocity it would've made any normal person cringe. Mira knelt down on her right knee whilst clenching her right hand into a fist, placing it next to her left foot. There was a small opening between the two.

Two mage circles appeared, signifying the usage of magic. A deep, blue-purple magic circle appeared below Mira, releasing an ominous violet light, making the girl look almost demonic with the large smirk on her face. A crimson red one appeared in front of Erza at the tip of the, recently drawn, sword. The crowd to a step back in anticipation of the soon to come fight.

But. Before they could attack one another, a loud booming voice called from overhead: 'what're ya brats' doin' down their! Can't a man sleep in peace?!' the teens froze in their fight positions as the sound echoed throughout the hall. The mage circle vanished as quickly as they had appeared. The silence was deafening. The girls didn't dare move a single part of their body, knowing full well whose voice it was and what he could do. The small gathering, excluding Mira and Erza, turned to face the owner of the voice.

There, standing on the railings of the second floor, was a man. The man was an extremely short, elderly man. He had black eyes and was bald apart from the outer rims of his head. He also had a thick white mustache. He was dressed casually, with a white shirt with black stamp in the middle which look like a dancing fairy, covered by an orange hoodie. His attire was completed with matching orange shorts and an orange and blue stripes designed jester hat. His appearance was a complete contradiction to the large scowl that donned his face; it was almost comical.

'Well…?' The man asked. Unlike before, it was quieter and more expectant. He looked down on them, like a regular person would look down on an ant or insect, looking into everyone's eyes. Until he landed on the two teens, who were glaring at each other.

'Why am I not surprised…' The man sighed, making the two teens glance up at the elderly man.

'It's not _my _fault, Master! _She_'s the one who started it! Not me!' Mira shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Erza, who, in turn, looked offended by the comment.

'Me?! You're the one who wouldn't just back down and get another request!'

'No, you're the one who stole the request I was about to do. Anyway, why should I have to get another request when it was mine to begin with?'

'Girls! Shut it or I'll lock you two in the same room for a week!' Master screamed, holding up his right fist in a threatening manner. Both of the girls instantly shut up at the treat, sweating bullets. Several of the member snickered at the sight.

'Now… seeming as both of you want this request so bad, why don't you both go on this request as a temporary team. Is that understood?' The girls stifled a "yes", begrudgingly accepted the offer. Solely because the look and authority in the man's voice left no room for arguments.

'oh… And take the others with you, it'll be good practice for when their older.' Makarov added on, gesturing to the four sat at the circular table.

Erza sighed, before turning to look at the younger children 'fine… just don't be late; we leave in one hour. I guess we should meet at the train station, kay?' Erza told them, earning several nods in agreement.

'And why should I listen to you, Erza?' Mira pondered, a sly expression falling on to her face. 'Because if you _don't _then we'll leave without you.' Erza stated, making sure to put enthesis on "don't". Mira's expression instantly changed, from one of knowing and deceit to one of stupidity and humiliation. Mira hmph'ed, before storming out of the guild, the others following soon afterwards.

* * *

'So... Erza, what the request we're supposed to be doing?' Cana questioned awkwardly; they had just got on to the train and were about to set off. They had got a first-class carriage because there we so many of them. The carriage itself was square-shaped with the door on one side and a window that let glimmering light in on the opposite side. Cushioned, velvet seats lined the other two sides, with baggage racks slightly above them. The seats themselves were deep purple in color, and were surprisingly comfortable. The floor was carpeted with deep, navy blue material, the same color as the curtains. Cana, Elfman and Gray sat on one side, whilst Erza, Lisanna and Mira sat on the other. Ever since they'd got into the carriage, an awkward silence had followed.

Erza opened her mouth to speak, but Mira beat her to it, 'We're supposed to be subduing an escaped criminal. He's supposed to be really powerful and use a rare form of lightning magic; like Laxus. The mayor doesn't know a lot about the convict so that's why we're heading directly to the location: Raven woods, without going to see the client first; it would just be a waste of time.' Erza glared at Mira, but said nothing.

'Raven woods?' Elfman pondered, putting his right index finger on his chin in a thinking gesture. Mira nodded him head in acknowledgment, folding her arms across her chest; her eyes darkening ever so slightly, 'It was named after all the wildlife began to die; apart from the ravens. It's said the place was cursed after the great forest spirit denied the pleadings of an old wizard. The wizard swore that he would get revenge; and he did. In the dead of night, whilst the forest spirit was sleeping, the wizard came and chopped the spirits head clean off, killing it instantaneously. Unbeknownst to the wizard, as soon as he killed the spirit he could not leave the boundary of the forest. Even so, the plants began to wither and die and so the animals left. The wizard began to wander aimlessly until he fell from exhaustion. Seeing the wizard, the ravens began to eat the flesh of the, still alive, man; gaining the powers of the wizard, the ravens became immortal and ever since that day, not a single raven has died in that woods.'

A chill went down everyone's spine at the story. The light coming from the window seemed to darken, if not disappear completely. The warmth seemed to desert the room, being replaced by the freezing cold. No-one dared disturb the silence that gripped the small group. Mira continued, 'I'm not sure whether the legend is true or not, but it had to be based on something that had happened in the past and a lot of strange things are happening in that area right now.'

For the rest of the journey no-one dared speak a word. Cana peered out of the window, watching as the clear, azure sky began to be engulfed by light gray clouds. Gray and Elfman had silently fallen asleep, leaning heavily on each other, somehow stopping themselves from falling. Erza seemed to be deep in thought, staring at their laps or fiddling with their skirts. Mira had gone off somewhere and Lisanna was nibbling on a small biscuit. Near the end of the journey the light gray clouds thickened until they became a deep charcoal color; quickly followed by an impetuous thunderstorm.

Finally, the train lurched to a halt, signifying the end of the ride. The sleeping team members jerked awake at the sudden stop, quickly scanning the room to make sure everyone was okay. Realizing there trip had ended, they both relaxed and stood up; quickly followed by the rest of them. They got off the train in an orderly fashion; as to not arouse any unwanted suspicion, Erza at the front. However, there was no-one around _too_ arouse any suspicion; the entire platform was empty. Gray looked around quizzingly, like something was missing, a small frown plastered on his face. Realization dawned upon him like the rising sun. _How did I not notice before…? Oh well, no-one else noticed… maybe I can use this to my advantage _Gray wondered to himself, smirking slightly as an idea brewed in his head.

'Where's Mira?' He asked, matter-of-factly. He wanted to feel smart for once, always being called an idiot to a large toll on his self-appearance; but now the tables were turned, he could be the smart one for once! Everyone turned to look at him skeptically, seemingly confused at his statement. Gray smiled at this, enjoying their stupidity. Thought, it all came crashing down when some-one cleared their throat behind him. He turned to see Mira look him straight in the eye, obviously unimpressed. Elfman snickered behind him, making him grit his teeth in frustration. _So much for being the smart guy for once…_Gray thought bitterly, before pouting slightly and turning away from the rest of the group.

'Where did you go Mira?' Lisanna questioned, look at her older sibling.

'I went to go see the conductor. Usually this stop isn't used, something to do with it being too unsafe or something, so I had to make sure he didn't pass it like usual.' Mira replied, smirking at the memory of "making sure" they didn't go pass. She'd never forget the look on their faces. Lisanna nodded in understanding, before silence fell over them. They group could hear the booming of thunder in the distance and the soft pitter patter of rain on the roof. They could hear ravens' cawing in the distance, thought it was barely recognizable as the thunder drowned most of the noise out. And for that moment, everything was tranquil and at peace, until a new noise joined the fray.

The sound of screaming.

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**Sorry... I sorta just gave up near the end; I wasn't really sure how to end it. And I'm also sorry for it being so short, I just didn't want you guys thinking I'd given up of something. But on another note, the next chapter will be full of action and (hopefully) über long!**

**Remember, review, Favourite and/or follow! Bye!**


	3. Masscre

_Chapter 3:_

'So… where exactly _are_ we going?' Gray questioned as they ran. After the group had heard the deafening scream they'd ran straight into the forest, ignoring the droplets of water smashing down on them; along with the threatening boom of thunder.

As soon as they'd run into the forest, they'd noticed how the legend had perfectly described the place: All of the trees were densely compacted, slicing at any and all foreign visitors with their claw-like branches. The ground was wet and muddy, from the rain or other causes, they didn't know. Ravens adored the tops of most of the trees, looking down at the group with their hungry, obsidian eyes. The most noticeable thing was the fact that, apart from the ravens, they couldn't notice any other life form; the trees were practically dead, having no luscious green leaves covering the naked branches, the ground had no shrubbery of any sort, nor any grass to adore the sad ground. Everything was seemingly dead or dying. The stench of death and dampness hung in the air. But the atmosphere was the worst of all, dark and demonic, almost sadistic in way. It was mocking them, and at the same time drawing them in, like a fish caught on a hook; unable to escape. And yet, sensing all of this, the group still wandered on, eventually reaching a small pathway, where the trees could not reach them, no matter how persistent they became.

'We're going to go find the source of that scream, and if there in trouble, help them.' Erza replied. She was slightly in front of everyone else, leading the way like the leader within a pack of wolves.

'But do we have to run; my feet hurt…' Cana moaned, seemingly limping on her right foot, frowning.

'Yes! What if the person's hurt, they would need medical attention right away! And we need to actually find him first; that could take hours!' Erza hold Cana. Everyone, excluding Mira, winced at the tone of voice; it was rare for Erza to be vicious, bossy yes, but not vicious. Obviously something had agitated to teen in more than one ways.

'Yeah, but what if the person was hurt by an animal or something; we'd need our strength to kill it, wouldn't we? And I don't think running there non stop's going to help.' Mira retaliated, using the matter-of-factly tone of voice to make Erza listen.

Said teen thought for a second; _Mira's right, if we just randomly jumped in on a dangerous monster, it could lead to the others getting injured; or worse. Not only that, but what if we were dealing with _another_ mage? We'd need our full strength to deal with them; after all, we did come here to subdue a lethal criminal, we'd be helping and subduing at the same time!_

'Fine… let's walk' Erza muttered, though she somehow still made it sound like an order. Instantly the group slowed down to a stop; the gap between Erza and the rest of them neither increasing nor decreasing in size. Some, namely Cana and Lisanna, were gasping for breath, clutching their sides in a futile attempt to stop the burning sensation. Whilst others, Erza and Mira, were seemingly unaffected by the large quantities of running they'd been doing. It took several minutes before the girls caught their breath, though still reluctant to carry on, they did so anyway because of the glare sent their way.

Now that the group had slowed down they'd noticed that, apart from the booming of thunder and the pitter-patter of falling rain, almost everything was silent. The ravens weren't making any attempts to intimidate the trespassers, nor were they even keeping an eye on them; unlike before. In fact, it was almost as if _they _were the ones being intimidated; not the group. The ravens seemed to of just class the group as unimportant and immediately turn their attention back to some other, strange existence that scared them. This though alone scared some group to no ends.

Although Erza wouldn't admit it, she too was scared of this place. Something else seemed to lurk within the shadows of the burnt umber coloured trees. Something else seemed to add to the decrepit and horrific atmosphere of the forest. Something else seemed to cause the plants to wither and the grass to die. These thoughts made the silence falling over them seem more daunting then it actually was. No-one dared to break it; the silent spell that had been casted over the small group, afraid that if they did, then something truly horrible would appear before them.

Minutes passed with no noise except for the squelching of mud underneath, the roaring thunder that seemed to be heard from all directions and the violent rain that never ceased. However, everything comes to an end, whether they like it or not. An ear piercing roar echoed throughout the forest, clearly originating from the base of the mountain. The scream was lathered in pain and anguish, unlike the last one, which seemed to be one in anger and hatred. Immediately the group stopped, listening to the agonising plea for help with horrified eyes. They instantly ran.

Erza and Mira quickly took the lead, closely followed by Gray and Elfman, with Lisanna and Cana lagging behind slightly. Each and every one of them was determined to find and help the poor soul, whatever the cost; After all, they were Fairy Tail mages.

No-one tried to communicate with the rest of the group, nor did they try to distill the silence that slowly threatened to smother them. They ran for what felt like hours through the long gorge, none of them slowing down, not even when the burning sensation came biting back; they persisted through the pain.

But. Even the self-proclaimed strongest mage's of Fairy Tail could not keep up this kind of speed forever; they began to unconsciously slow down; their steady breathing slowly becoming erratic and raspy, their skin becoming drenched in warm, sticky sweat and their firm strides becoming slobbish and weak. The rain doing nothing to quench their growing thirst

However, before any of the less capable ones could drop from exhaustion, both Erza and Mira stopped in their tracks, making Gray and Elfman bump into them. At first, the two leaped back, moving both of their hands in front of them as if to protect themselves, trembling in fear. But. Seconds passed without Mira _or_ Erza reacting, completely disregarding the rest of the group. They seemed to be squinting at the horizon, looking towards the jagged mountains and clouded skies. The rest of the group looked back and forth between the two; from the horizon, to Erza and Mira, and then back into the distance again, in an endless circle of looking back and forth, trying to see what they could not.

The two were broken out of their trance by a third scream. Unlike before, where the scream seemed to die down, this one was drowned out after a couple of seconds by a chilling squawk. It sounded almost like an Eagle's, but _much _louder. The small group scurried back in terror, looking up to the sky with fearful eyes, believing that's where the noise originated from. The sky began to stir, literally, as a part of it began to pull away, looking like a small stalactite beginning to form. Erza and Mira noticed all too soon what was going on; a hurricane was forming. At first the hurricane was small, only two or so inches long from the group's point of view. But, before anyone could so much as take a step, the tip of the hurricane came spiralling towards the ground, spinning and twisting like it was alive, before slamming into the muddied floor with an almighty crash. Instantly, the condensed funnel of air expanded, growing larger and larger by the second. Then it did something that none of them thought would happen. The hurricane dissipated, sending a huge gale of wind throttling toward the small group. Trees violently rocked back and forth as the gale came into contact with them. The ravens quickly took to the skies, attempting in futility to escape the blast. The wall of mud and water droplets came hurdling toward the small group like bullets. Said group used their small, petit hands as shields, trying to block the worst of the debris.

As the actual gale reached the group, they were quite literally knocked of their feet. Each and every one of them was send back at least several meters, being tossed backwards like a rag doll. Cana and Lisanna were lucky to be near the back, the wall of natural destruction wasn't as strong as the others in front acted like shields, protecting them from the worst. Yet they still had the wind beaten out of them as they painfully landed on their back. Gray and Elfman were also lucky, landing on their front. However, Erza and Mira weren't so lucky. They took their brute of the attack and were sent flying into the ragged, creek walls, both cutting and bruising their backs and forearms. They group thought that the worst of it was over.

How wrong they were.

The group didn't even have time to stand up, or even react as a secondary blast, this time from behind, slammed into them. Unlike the last one, this one was way stronger. The group was hurled forward, being pushed by an invisible force for about a hundred metres before being thrown off. The group noted that the blast of wind was ice cold; leaving a trail of frost in its wake. All of the girls shivered as they stood up, whilst the boys simply shrugged off the cold.

'What the hell just happened!?' Elfman question, rubbing the side of his head where a bruise was quickly forming. The rest of them just shrugged their shoulders, unsure of how to respond to the question. That was until Mira noticed what was in front of them; a look of horror and, surprisingly, fear adoring her pale, unblemished face.

In front of them is what looked to be a massacre field: blood splattered across the wall like a ruined art piece staining the rock walls a grotesque colour; Linear sticks, supposedly staffs, lay broken to the side. A pile of, what looked to be, regular bandages, lying at the front, seemingly stain in a black gooey liquid. The abysmal stench of death hung in the air. However, the most disturbing thing of all had to be the corpses lying in the middle of a field of dry blood, making the floor flaky and a disturbing red- brown mixture. Limbs were missing from some of the bodies, lying next to, or nearby to the main body. The body parts that were attached were horribly misshapen, bending in unnatural, even abnormal, positions. It was difficult to tell what was worse; the beheaded corpse nearest to the group; with its head next to the set of bandages. With the body that had holes about the size of a regular tennis ball though his lower right abdomen and left shoulder. Or the stench of blood and rotting flesh that hung in the air, attack their noses with everlasting fury, making the group dizzy and sick to their stomachs

An icy breeze blew past the shocked children; who could have done such a horrible thing? _What _could have done such a thing? Time seemed to freeze. No-one moved. The sound of thunder halted, waiting to see what would happen next with curious eyes. The temperature dropped.

Eyes were averted from the head corpse, and instead went to the other four. It was true that they didn't seem as decapitated as the first one, but something seemed horribly wrong with them. Maybe it was the fact that all of them were placed in a straight line; they could see that _whatever_ had done this moved the bodies afterwards, as smears of blood were all around, indicating that the body was moved immediately after death. Maybe it was the fact that their faces were contorted with dread, eyes filled with pure trepidation, like they already knew what was coming, that it was their fate to die this brutally. Or maybe it was the fact that the slashes and holes seemed to make words right in front of them:

On the left side, the far left male had a large diagonal cut starting from his top right shoulder, going at an angle that should've gone to his lower left side, but for some reason ended near the centre of his torso. However, a secondary gash went from his left shoulder all the way down to his lower right torso, meeting the primary gash in the centre. The middle left male had a huge, oval-shaped wound painted on the middle of his torso, with the tips reaching the collarbone and the pelvis bone. It looked as though, when the man was alive, the thing had shoved him backwards, as there were parallel indentations in the blood-brown earth, implying that he had been brutally shoved back, but managed to stand his ground, before his untimely death.

On the right side, the far right male was very similar to the man on the middle left, almost identical. He too had a huge, oval-shaped wound on the middle of his torso. The thing that creeped out the teens ever so slightly was the fact that the tips reaching exactly the same places on the collarbone and the pelvis bone. The only difference was the fact that the man had been move, instead of shoved, into the linear position. Finally, the middle right man had a completely vertical slit running- like the rest- from his top right shoulder to his lower right torso. Another cut ran perpendicular to the first one from the lower right torso to the lower left torso- perfectly horizontal.

Erza gritted her teeth, 'what kind of a sick joke is that guy trying to pull!?' she spat out, a look of complete loathing streaking across her face.

Erza knew that a person had done this, and with sickening delight at that. Erza knew that this person was very dangerous; there were most likely things that would mentally scar the kids forever. She could _not_ let that happen! She quickly turned to look at the rest of them. She could tell just by looking at them that they were both petrified and disgusted at the scene; Levy and Cana were clutching each other tightly, both shivering tremendously. Whether it was from the quick drop in temperature or from the undeniable fear, she could not tell. Elfman was clutching the sides of his stomach whilst taking deep, empathised breaths, probably to keep himself from being sick. Gray swayed from side to side, like he was in some sort of sickly trance. Mira slowly hauled herself off the floor, practically seething in rage.

'W-What do y-you mean?' Lisanna questioned with a shaky breath, fighting off the urge to cry from fear.

Erza was about to answer, but Mira beat her to it, 'Look at the slice wounds, sis, really look at them.' Mira instructed. Hesitantly, she complied. Seconds passed… nothing. An entire minute passed of the children studying to blade wounds with disgusted, fear, and slight curiosity.

Gray's eyes suddenly widened, like he had figured out something disturbing- which he had- about the corpses. 'What the hell...' He whispered under his breath, but loud enough so that the rest heard him.

'What is it Gray? What's wrong?' Cana questioned, averting her gaze from the corpses to Gray with curious eyes.

'Look at the cuts and replace them with letters: the far left one "**Y**", the middle one "**O**", the other middle one "**L**", and the final one "**O**". "**Y.O.L.O**"- **Y**ou **O**nly **L**ive **O**nce.' Gray explained. At first, the rest of the group, excluding Erza and Mira who already figured it out, had a look of confusion plastered on their face; then Doubt, realization, and finally repulsion.

'Who would do such a horrible thing!?' Lisanna screamed. The others winced slightly at the tone of voice, Lisanna almost never screamed. Though with the strange- or more accurately grotesque- turn of events, who could blame her? After seeing five decapitated bodies lying in an order that made up a sickening pun, full of irony.

'A monster, that's what', Cana answered with disgust, quickly followed by Elman and Gray adding their own opinion into the mix:

'A demon'

'A bear'

'It was none of those things' Erza contradicted, whipping round to look at them face to face- showing the group just how angry Erza was at the moment. Her own face was completely contorted with a look of disgust that made the group fear for their lives. Even though Erza didn't look at them directly, they still felt like her steely cold eyes were boring into their skulls.

'A bear can't spell, Elfman. If it was a demon no bodies would be left, and as for it being a monster, I highly doubt, just like a bear, that they can spell' Erza explained in an icy cold tone, which suited to the temperature. The group hadn't noticed that it had begun to snow, dusting the tree tops and corpses in white icing. However, none were in the mood to joyously prance around saying one of the stereotypical mantras; like "it's snowing! It's snowing!" or "yeah, no work tomorrow!" In fact, it was quite the opposite.

'Then what could've done it, little miss smart ass?' Mira said in a mocking tone, though it seemed as though she was more trying to lighten the mood, instead of insult her long term rival. Though, even though Mira asked the question, she already knew, or at least assumed, what it was.

'A human'

* * *

**I am so sorry for not updating sooner! Theirs no excuse, I was just being lazy; I got into a rhythm of getting home from school, doing homework, then having fun, have dinner, and revise ( and go to sleep, of course) so I got used to doing that. But anyway, I'm only in year 9 so I have other hobbies; In other word's, don't expect a update phenomenally soon. By the way, can you guy review more; they really do help when it comes to self- esteem and the will to carry on (don't ask why), no joke.**

**Anyhow, til' next time**


	4. Blizzard

_Chapter 4: _

It was an understatement to say that Erza was scared. Just before continuing on their mission to find out who had done such a thing to those people, she sent the younger ones- Cana, Gray, Elfman and Lisanna- back the way they came, telling them to go find help. She knew that whatever lay ahead, it would be _very _dangerous. So their she was, with Mira, walking through a dried up creek towards a potentially lethal enemy who found writing using cuts fun.

Now that the adrenaline that had come with the large run beforehand had worn off, Erza could finally have a good look around: The precarious trees that leaned out at adjacent angles on the ledge about them. The fluffy white snow that dusted both the ground and the tree branches, somehow managing to make it seem more intimidating than ever. The slimy cliff walls that glimmered in the little sunlight that shone through the charcoal clouds. Erza also noticed the dramatic change in temperature; when they had first arrived in this god-forsaken forest, the air was relatively dense and humid, but now, the air was freezing, so much so that her breath came out foggy. But that's not the only thing Erza noticed; she also caught on to how quickly the snow had picked up, changing from a light sprinkle, to a reasonable speed, quickly spreading the floor and trees in a thick layer of the white stuff.

The silence between Mira and Erza was comfortable. Both of them knew that there was going to be a difficult battle in front of them, and neither of them needed words to exchange their fears and worries. Though, neither one of them could shake off the feeling that this snow was a threat, warding them away from its master; they both suspected that the snow was caused and enchanted by magic.

Soon, the pair lost track of time, having no idea how long they had been walking for. They could've been walking for hours, and they wouldn't have known. But, on thing they did know, what that only a few minutes ago -or what seemed like a few minutes ago- they had been able to see with reasonable ease what was in front of them, but now they couldn't see a thing. They knew the cause of this was the snowstorm; when they had begun their trek, it was lightly snowing, but it had taken a turn for the worse: the wind had picked up dramatically, clawing at their hair and faces with relentless force. The snow had quickly overcome the trees, completely covering them with ice and snow; some even had icicles hanging from the reasonably horizontal branches.

The floor was no exception to the blizzard's fury, quickly becoming several centimetres deeper. Both Erza and Mira had to cover their eyes from the blistering cold, using their hands to shield their faces as best as possible. With the task of lugging their numb legs, and forcing their way through the raging wind that tried their hardest to push them backwards, the teens quickly felt tired. Soon both Mira and Erza were shaking from exhaustion and the cold, unsure whether it was wise to continue in such a state. But they could find no place suitable to stop natures on slaughter.

Just as they were about to give up, the blizzard stopped. The snow decreased until it was back to a light sprinkle. The winds decreased until there was little more than a light breeze. And the snow covering the ground seemed too decreased to only a centimetre in thickness. At first, the two of them were confused, then relieved, then suspicion, and finally tiredness. Mira fell to the floor due to exhaustion, quickly followed by Erza. Both of them were panting heavily.

'What…do you think… caused that?' Mira asked, panting every so often, clutching he sides.

Erza was unsure of how to answer. It's true that she knew that the blizzard was caused by magic, but by whom? It could've been the person who wrote that hideous joke; aiming to be funny in an extremely sadistic way. It could've been the person who was injured (Erza thought that the man who was screaming was in pain, and as such injured), as a defence mechanism to stop anyone from approaching him

Even though Erza came up with two reasonably ideal suggestions, she couldn't help but have a nagging feeling at the back of her mind. She knew it was a crazy thought, but whenever she tried to distinguish it, it just simply came back with more ferocity than before; What if the forest was alive? What if it was the cause of the blizzard? What if it was the reason behind the sickening joke, the screams and the increasing dread that was crawling up her spine ever since she come to this satanic forest. She knew that if she voiced her opinion, Mira would think she was insane; and, truth be told, she felt insane. But that still didn't stop the large amount of terror that came with the small thought, 'what if I was right?' She knew it was a silly thought, but still…

It was Mira who cut her thought off, 'Hello? Anybody in their? Come on, we need to get going before we all freeze to death!' Erza turned to look at Mira with a confused look on her face; not moments ago had Mira asked her a question whilst gasping for breath, and now she seemed perfectly fine, complaining about needing to go somewhere.

Mira laughed whole-heartedly at Erza's reaction. For the past five minutes Erza had been staring into space, most likely daydreaming (or thinking as Erza likes to call it) about either question she'd asked, or the general intensity of the situation: they were tracking a most likely mad psychopath who likes to massacre people, write on their bodies, and then leave them out in the open for six children/teens to find them. Not exactly your normal day. But as much as Mira wanted to joke about the situation, she couldn't. She too, was slightly disgusted by the ironic pun carved into the abdomens of the misshapen bodies. But she didn't let her fear control her emotions, much like Erza.

'Huh?' Was Erza's clever response to Mira's statement. Erza looked around, slightly confused by what Mira was talking about. The scene looked like something from a film: Beautiful, glimmering icicles that hung from the umber-brown branches of the trees. Thick, ivory white snow that piled itself on the floor and ledges above them, completely undisturbed by human, and animal, inhibition. Crisp, cool air that was nearly completely still around them. It was only know that Erza had noticed that the sound of a raging blizzard was still ringing in her ears, which was confusing since everything around her was so calm and serene.

Until she looked behind her.

Their it was. A huge, spiralling wall of white. At first, Erza thought it was simply a trick of the light, until she saw that it wasn't actually solid; it was _moving._ The thought alone not only scared her, but confused her too. It was true that the wall was solid, but it was also painfully obvious that it was moving. That was until she pieced it together, why the blizzard ended so abruptly; it was because the person who had made the blizzard made it so that it the blizzard acted as a defence, created a condensed wall of snow around this entire area. The idea made her uneasy; to be able to make a blizzard it would take a reasonable amount of magic. But to be able to control a blizzard with such precision would mean that not only was the creator strong, but it also meant that they were extremely disciplined in the art of snow manipulation.

However, that wasn't the only thing Erza noticed. She also became aware of the lack of Ravens within the area. At first, when they made their way through the undergrowth, there had been hundreds of the black birds perched on all of the top branches; several on each. But now, looking up at the looming tree tops, she couldn't see anything. _Perhaps the blizzard scared them off? _She thought to herself, attempting to calm her raging nerves, but deep down she knew that it was something far worse than just the spiralling snow that had scared them off. Something that made the darkness and mystery surrounding raven woods far more personified than usual. Something that made even the slightest chill down her spine so potent that it felt like electricity coursing up and down her entire back.

'Come on! We need to get going now, before the sun sets!' Mira shouted, grabbing Erza's hand and hauling her to her feet, before running off, pulling Erza along with her like a rag doll. Mira's grip on Erza's hand never faltered once on the short trek forward; actually, Erza thought that Mira had begun to grip even tighter after about half a minute, who knows why. On several occasions Erza nearly fell over due to the speed in which they were going – it amazed even her the speed in which Mira managed to regain stamina.

After a very short trip of ten minutes the pair reached their destination: an opening. The area was beautiful: a huge, jagged chalk cliff marked the end of the space in front of them. A huge, azure lake lay to the right of them, completely calm with a thin sheet of ice covering it. Big cocoa coloured trees bordered the rest of the area, leaving a small passageway- where the two were stand- allowing passer byers to enter in and out of. The cold had affected this place as well: Snow completely covered the floor, leaving no trace of the burnt-sierra ground beneath them. Huge, pillar like stalagmites shot out of the ground at obscure angles, ranging from only a foot tall, to the size of some of the trees. The air was crisp because of the freezing temperatures.

However, the opening had an evil feel to it. A strong sense of foreboding hung of the area like a wet cloth, constricting itself around the entire forest, squeezing the life out of it. There was no doubt that this was the source of the overwhelming hatred and malice that was intertwined into the air.

Just when the duo was about to take a cautious step forward, a cool voice called out to them, 'who are you?' It was obviously a child's voice, almost indefinitely a boy's voice, albeit with a sharp edge to it. The voice was strange, though, it seemed to resonate around the entirety of the area, filling the air with a chilling frost. The pair quickly twisted and turned their head's to find the source of the voice, but to no avail.

Erza knew that the boy had somehow managed to hide his visible presence, but it was obvious that he wasn't skilled enough to hide his aura. Knowing that it was her only bet on actually finding the child, Erza focused on pin-pointing the magical presence within the air; she knew that if the boy could shroud his body from a mage, then he was obviously using some sort of magic. Erza let her conscience spread out over the opening, touching each and every organism within the vicinity. In all honesty, it didn't take long to find the boy's aura; it stuck out like a sore thumb. The aura was sickening, churning with a dark desire for pain and destruction, infecting the area around it like a poison would within a human's body.

And it was powerful. _Very _powerful.

Erza quickly turned to face a nearby tree, unsheathing her sword and leaping forward like a panther would towards its prey. With a single, diagonal slice downwards, the tree was cut clean through, allowing it falling to the floor with a load _crash!_

The tips of Erza's lips twitched upwards ever so slightly; she knew that she had caught the boy off guard, making sure not to actually cut the child in half. But what happened next made her small smile turn into a frown. The sound of laughing filled the air, reverberating all around the area, making the floor rumble slightly.

She didn't know why she looked towards the centre of the opening, it just felt natural, like something was going to happen; and sure enough, it did. A boy seemingly appeared from nowhere about a metre off the ground, landing softly on the snow with bare feet.

The boy himself looked rather regular with simple, black shorts and a black hoodie that contrasted with his tanned skin. Bare feet that looked perfectly fine in the freezing cold, showing no signs of feeling numb at all. The child had unruly, salmon pink hair that spiked out in all directions, a huge contradiction to the obsidian black eyes. Even from here, Erza could tell that the boy was smiling, a cruel sadistic smirk that taunted the pair: _I know something that you don't! _They seemed to say.

Cautiously, Erza took a step forward. Surely this boy couldn't harm her? Even though she knew it was silly to be scared of some-one younger than you, his aura hugely contradicted with the reassuring statement.

'Hello?' She called out to the boy, taking several more cautious steps forward. She was now only a few metres away from the boy. However, before she could close the distance even more, the boy swiftly moved into a fighting stance; his right foot taking the lead. Meanwhile, his left arm cut across his torso in a diagonal fashion, grabbing at something underneath the black hoodie. As the boy pushed the fabric to the side, Erza got a glimpse of a silver chain. The chain was hanging out of his pocket, much like how teenagers wear their pocket chains. However, unlike the teenager's version, the silver chain held multiple black key-like objects, each with their own shape and style.

The boy made a grab for the nearest one; yanking it from the chain with such ease. Erza guessed that the chain was enchanted of some sort to make it easy to get the keys off of it. The boy then swiped the key to the side, as if he was trying to slice the air, while the key began to glow an eerie, almost ominous, fire-red colour.

_'I open thee! Gate of the Harvest Wolves, Byakko!'_

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**Yes, I know it's been a long time, sorry about that. I thought that after all the exams and all that the teachers would be more lenient on Homework set... Obviously not. Plus I really got into Percy Jackson & the Olympians (again) and the Gone series. Anyway, thanks to all those people who reviewed, couldn't of done it without you. ****I'm sorry that the chapter's short, I just wanted to put it out their and all that. **

**Now, I have a question for you guys...Two, in fact: Is this fanfic at an author-like standard, and do you think I should write a Percy Jackson fanfic. Now, to answer some (A.K.A. two) questions: **

**Guest-Person-Thingy:** Dunno, It depends whether you guys want him to be all cheerful or not, but even if you guys did want him to a good and all that, I would make it something to do with friends and family, and he'll still be slightly twisted anyway.

**JackQuake**: I only use one apostrophe partially cause I was brought up like that and partially because all- and I mean all- of the books I've read so far only use one. By the way, thanks for the really nice comments - I can relate to you on the horrible grammar part.

**Winja**: Could you be more specific; do you mean how to put up a story?, or how to actually write a story? (I sure hope you be the former, cause I have no clue about the second one)

**P.S What do people mean by "Flamers", Cause I have absolutely no idea what their talking about...**

**Till next time,**


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